But he didn’t. Not one single ounce.
37
Ra
The city passed in a swirl of gray and metal as Seti tracked their prey through the streets. One thought ran through his head: make them suffer.
Anger brighter and hotter than any he’d ever experienced lit him up. Rose had been taken from him.
He smelled the blood on Seti and knew it belonged to Rose. All of his fears came crashing down. All of his regrets filled him. Regret. Fear. Anger. It was a chemical reaction—an explosion into rage that tinged his vision red.
He would bring such suffering. He wouldn’t lift a finger. His enemies would be the hand of their destruction.
And if Rose was hurt…
If she was—
Regret number one: not killing Dr. Stone yesterday.
Regret number two: running from Boston after meeting Rose.
Regret number three: not kissing Rose again.
Regret number four: thinking he knew what was best for everyone.
That fourth one… fuck. It weighed heavily. He’d spent centuries making decisions for everyone around him, utterly confident he was doing the right thing.
This time he hadn’t. They should have taken Rose with them. Should have remembered that it was only their presence that kept her from hurting.
That hurt was his fault, too. He’d made another decision, commanded another person to do what he wanted. He hadn’t thought of the consequences, and when he’d left—again, he’d run—he’d left Rose here to deal with the fallout.
“This place smells,” Seti said, slowing slightly.
Ra breathed in, studying the warehouses. There was the scent of garbage, salt water, rust, and beneath all of that, a smell that seemed soaked into the concrete and metal.
Burned flesh. Fat. Blood.
Rot.
They’d walked into a graveyard.
“Not Rose’s blood,” Horus said. They stopped so abruptly, the wind they created as they ran slammed into the building and shook the windows.
“But she’s here,” Ra said. It was faint, just a trace, but her scent lingered.
Seti’s phone rang. There was only one reason it would be. “Answer it,” he commanded, even though his brothers weren’t susceptible to his voice.
Eyes on his, Seti removed the phone from his pocket and answered.
“You all can hear me.” The voice on the other end was smooth. The southern accent gliding vowels and softening consonants. “So, listen carefully. I know what you are. I know who you are. Ra. Seti. Horus. Origins. Myths. Gods. I thought I needed Rose’s blood. I thought she held the key, but it’s you I really need. You’re the ones who hold the answers.”
“Give her back,” Ra commanded, voice laden with all the power he could muster. But he could feel it doing nothing. It wasn’t the same—traveling through air, refracted, broken, and put back together to come out the other end.
It had no effect on Dr. Stone. “No.”
Seti narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. In all their battles and wars, he had never looked as he did now. His deep blue eyes lightened, pupils constricting until they were pebbles in the center of icy blue lakes. “You’ve made a mistake,” his brother got out. He spun suddenly, studying each building. “You don’t control us.”
Dr. Stone cleared his throat. “I know what you can do. After the Nightmare, I followed the trail of vampires from here to the source. To Egypt. I tracked their blood like a genealogist. I read the legends, sought out experts who believed there was some truth in the ancient stories. You figure in heavily to those stories. So when you took an interest in my Rose, I couldn’t let myself believe it at first. I know about you, Ra. I know about all of you. But I had to take this risk. Seems it was worth it. Your ability, Ra—your voice—it doesn’t carry the same power when it’s converted to electricity. If I was there, all you’d have to do is speak, and I’d take my own life.”
“What do you want?” Horus asked.
“Your blood,” he answered simply. “Rose’s blood was a start. Breathe in. You smell the vampires and crawlers. Some of them I made.”
Seti froze, and the back of Ra’s neck prickled with awareness. From the shadows, forms moved, announcing their presence.
“Daywalkers,” Seti said.
“Thanks to Rose,” Dr. Stone said. “Her blood paralyzes creatures who could destroy me in the blink of an eye. It also changes them. They survive in the sunlight. Heal from injuries that should kill. The pain is enormous, but it’s the price they pay. One small, imperfect girl’s blood made an army. So I have to wonder, what can your blood do?”
“Enough,” Ra burst out. “Seti, hang up the phone.”
Seti didn’t hesitate. He hung up and slid it into his pocket. “We have to search everywhere.”
“And fight,” Horus said. He stretched his neck from side to side, causing Ra to grin involuntarily. It was a habit his brother had before they went into battle.
“Split up or stay together?” Ra asked, earning a shocked stare from Horus. “Horus. Split up or stay together?”
“Split up,” he answered. He turned in a tight circle. “Kill everyone.” Horus would track Rose. He’d find her while Ra and Seti would lay to waste anything that might hurt her.
He and his brother nodded their understanding and with that, took off.
38
Rose
Rose limped around the perimeter of the room once again. It was empty and windowless, illuminated by only one light set deep in a corner.
She’d been dropped in here after the vampire had grabbed her. Her ankle had cracked when he’d thrown her through the hatch in the ceiling and was still healing.
Each step was painful, a layer to the pain that hadn’t left since the guys had. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering at both the temperature and the iciness in her veins.
“Help!” she called out again. Her voice was rough and hoarse, almost gone from yelling and screaming. She’d threatened and begged, but no one came.
This was bad. Really bad.
She stopped near the light, sliding down the wall to the floor. The room was a tomb, and she had no idea where she was. The city had whipped by her, landmarks blurring. Once, she thought she caught the scent of the sea, and then something like garbage, but she couldn’t identify where she was.
The vampire who took her held her in tight bony hands. He didn’t look at her. Didn’t speak to her. He’d just dropped her like a sack of potatoes through the hatch and closed it before she knew what was happening.
Rose lifted her pant leg. Her ankle and foot were so swollen there was no way she’d get her shoe back on if she took it off. Pressing her fingers against her skin, she tried to locate the break. She pushed right below her ankle, and heat suddenly flooded her before a sharp stab confirmed she’d found the right place.
Letting her head fall back against the wall, she let out a breath. And waited.
There was no doubt in her mind that Horus, Seti, and Ra were searching for her. The question was, would they get to her before Dr. Stone or one of the hungry-looking vampires?
She thought back to yesterday. “I need her blood.” For a human, he did a great fucking impression of a vampire.
Stand up. If Dr. Stone, or a vampire, or crawler were coming for her, she wasn’t going to meet them sitting on her ass in the dirt. The light offered a little bit of heat, and she eased closer to it, sighing in relief at the warmth.
It even made the pain ease up… The heat wasn’t coming from the light. “Horus!” she yelled. “Seti! Ra!”
There was no answer, but the pain retreated another inch.
“Horus!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
The hatch above her buckled, metal groaning against metal. And then he was there. Horus landed like a superhero, appearing out of the dust and dirt. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as tight as she could.
“Are you okay?” he asked, holding her just
as tightly. “You’re not hurt?”
“I messed up my ankle,” she said, “but I can walk. We have to get out of here as fast as we can.”
He stepped back enough to study her face. His dark brows were drawn together and his eyes nearly black. He pushed her hair back from her face, cupping her cheek in his hand. “Let’s go.”
His arm stayed around her back as he bent his knees, but something dropped from above them, and he fell back.
Like rats seeking higher ground, crawlers swarmed through the hatch. One after another slid inside, hissing and snapping so she and Horus were forced to retreat one step and then another.
The crawlers wound over each other, slithering and twisting, taking up every inch of space. Horus pushed her behind him.
And then he fought.
He had no weapons except his hands, but they were enough. He whirled and spun, twisted and bent. Necks cracked and bones snapped, but the swarm was endless. Horus grunted, and she tried to get to him but was pushed back by the flood.
Sharp teeth sliced through her jeans and shirt and acid burned her veins before her healing took over. She fought like she’d seen Horus do, but her blows were weak and her bones more fragile.
Still, she fought.
She couldn’t even see Horus anymore. The crawlers moved like snakes, covering the large man. Rose dove toward it, but thin, sharp nails dug into her and dragged her back.
A dark form, and then another, gracefully dropped through the hatch. Thank God.
But the men who stood, tall and broad-shouldered, weren’t Seti and Ra. Their perfect faces were expressionless as they took in the writhing bodies.
“Move.” One of the men had white-blond hair and bright green eyes. At his command, the crawlers retreated to reveal Horus.
Bite marks marred every inch of exposed skin, and his clothes were nearly shredded. Tendons in his neck stood out as he arched his back and slammed one fist into the concrete.
“Bite again,” the other man said. He had tan skin, almost like Horus’s, but it was drawn tight over his bones.
One of the crawlers struck out, sinking its teeth into Horus’s arm. He dropped like a stone, and Rose rushed toward him.
She didn’t even get close.
Something grabbed her ankle, and she slammed into the concrete, catching herself on her hands. Her wrist broke, but a hand covered her mouth, muffling her scream of pain.
Horus grunted, unable to speak, before the green-eyed vampire loomed over her. “Will you save him?” he asked.
Rose nodded immediately. Dr. Stone wanted her blood. He could have it. He could have whatever he wanted, but they had to stop.
She didn’t see the knife, but she felt it. It sliced through her skin, from her collarbone to breast. The vampire held it in the air, watching the blood drip from the end.
He’d gone deep, to the bone. Automatically, she tried to stem the bleeding, but with every pump of her heart, she lost more blood.
Above her, the vampire’s eyes dilated, and he licked his lips, but he didn’t move.
Minutes dragged by as she lay, unable to move as her body fought to heal. It burned as the veins and skin re-knitted.
She sucked in a breath, and the world came into fast focus. Horus strained to fight, but the vampire with the knife paid no attention to him.
“Ready?” he asked her, and the knife sliced down again. This time she blocked it and the knife slid through her arm, all the way to her bone.
Horus jerked as another crawler bit him, when through concrete and distance, she heard Seti and Ra call her name.
For once, the vampire’s expression changed. His green eyes cut to the side. “Your blood or hers?” He sliced down, and she blocked the knife with her arm again.
She was dizzy from blood loss, but the wounds weren’t fatal. “Horus,” she croaked.
Her head lolled to one side, and she saw him, surrounded by crawlers, covered in bleeding, crescent-shaped bites.
His gaze locked on hers before lifting to the vampire’s. “Mine.”
The vampire next to him grabbed Horus’s hair. Every single molecule in her body screamed against what she knew would happen. His brown throat strained, and he swallowed, once, before the shiny silver blade swept across his neck.
Next to her, the man stood, retreated a step and then ran into the wall. His body cracked, but so did the concrete.
Rose heard him, but she didn’t watch. Her gaze was glued to Horus’s. She crawled toward him, tears making everything blurry and smudged. The other vampire blocked her view of him for a moment, and when he moved aside, he was covered in blood.
Behind her, the vampire ran into the wall, He did it again, and again, until something broke and the sunlight streamed through the window.
“Horus.”
He made a horrible sound, a gurgling choke. His tan skin was pale, so pale.
He was dying.
It didn’t matter that he was immortal, this wound was too much. It was too deep.
He tried to breathe and the skin at his neck gaped. “Oh God.” They’d cut through his windpipe. Above her, Ra and Seti roared and fought. Crawlers screamed before they cut off.
“Help!”
His blood covered her hands. At some point, she’d pressed against the wound to stop the flow, but it wasn’t enough. There was blood everywhere.
Blood.
He needed blood.
But her blood was poison.
No. Her blood would paralyze him.
Horus’s eyes rolled back into his skull, and his body went slack. His chest lifted, short, jerky, motions that she knew did nothing to keep him alive.
His brothers were fighting to get to him, but they wouldn’t get here in time.
The vampire had dropped the knife next to Horus. Without giving herself a second to think about it, she cut her wrist and pushed it against Horus’s mouth.
Wedging herself under him so she could prop his head, she cradled him against her. “Please let this work.” She was different, but she was still human. Blood is blood. “Don’t die,” she begged.
Her wrist burned, and she withdrew it to slice again. Rose leaned over his body, resting her forehead against his. “Please, Horus.”
“Rose.” Gentle hands gripped her shoulders, easing her away. Immediately alert, she fought those hands.
“No!” She had to help him. When had her eyes closed? She opened them, searching for the knife she’d somehow dropped and met Seti’s eyes.
Ra was already working over Horus. He held one arm to Horus’s mouth while he bit into his arm with the other and then smeared it over the wound in his brother’s throat.
But Horus was too wounded. She’d seen… she’d seen…
Save him. Save him. Save him.
“I’m trying.” Ra glanced once at her and then back to the man who saved her.
“Did I make it worse?” she asked, but he didn’t answer. “Seti.” His arms tightened around her when she spoke. “Seti, did I make it worse?” He kissed her temple, lips lingering next to her hairline.
She was watching him die.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Horus. Please. Please. The words tumbled through her mind, reaching for something with more power than her that could save this man. This beautiful, big-hearted, sweet-souled man. He didn’t deserve to die. Not for her.
“Please, Horus.”
Ra suddenly hissed a breath. Horus’s jaw worked, and his hands came up to hold his brother’s wrist to his mouth.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and Rose cried out. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold in her sobs as the color returned to his cheeks and his eyes opened.
Relief made her weak, and if it wasn’t for Seti, she’d have collapsed into a snotty heap. Thank God.
A strong hand gripped hers, tugging her forward. She landed on Horus, dropped her head to his chest, and held on.
39
Rose
Rose perched on Horus’s lap, one hand in Seti�
�s, the other in Ra’s. Something had changed after they survived Dr. Stone’s attack. The wall of uncertainty that stood between them disintegrated into dust. There had been no declarations of love, but Rose knew her heart.
They’d fought demons for her.
Horus had given his life for her.
If that wasn’t love, she didn’t know what was.
Dirty, bleeding, and tired, Rose, Horus, Seti, and Ra had sought to regroup with their friends.
“A human with a vampire army,” Valen said. “Vampires he made.”
“With the help of my blood.” Rose leaned her head on Horus’s shoulder. He rubbed soothing circles on her back.
Hudson and Marcus stared at Valen and Sylvain while Briar stroked Lindy’s hair away from her face while she slept, head resting on her lap.
Briar’s blue eyes were frightened. “We need to go,” she said. “Hide Lindy away. If he learns about her…”
“Stone may already know,” Hudson answered. “We can assume that Rose was followed and that’s how he learned about you.” He gazed at the brothers quickly before he glanced down at Lindy. “You’re right. We have to protect her.”
Sylvain stood. “I would fight. I’d kill this man. But this is my daughter. Her safety comes first.”
Rose sighed and straightened. “You’re right. You all should leave. Hide. If he can’t get to you—”
“We’re not leaving you here,” Seti replied.
“What if we all leave?” Rose asked. “He won’t follow us, will he?”
“I don’t know,” Ra replied. “But he’s not stronger than us. A handful of vampires and a thousand crawlers aren’t stronger than my brothers. We’ll stay. And we’ll destroy him. You—” He glared at Hudson. “You need to go.” Lindy sighed and his gaze softened. “Take your family and go. We’ll fix this.”
40
Rose Page 20
